Have you tried Facebook stories? Here’s our guide.

The algorithm changes to Facebook have, pretty much across the board, seen a reduction in reach. Whilst engaging content, some targeted boosts and use of video and imagery can help to increase reach, Facebook stories are another ‘free’ method of doing this and they’re currently not used widely so it’s a great time to get started.

If you want to get your business in front of your audience and be one of the first to adopt this method of reaching your audience, read on!

Stories appear at the top of users’ Facebook News Feed on both desktop and the mobile app (picture here is on desktop) so you’ll be ‘front and centre’ with your message.

Just like Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories are visual rather than text-based (although you can do a ‘stylised text option) and they can contain multiple photos and videos.

They will disappear in 24 hours.

As I write this, business pages can only post Stories using the mobile app, not from desktop – so first things first – download the Facebook app (not the Pages app, just Facebook) if you haven’t already and it seems that if a page is managed in Business Manager stories don’t work.

Good posts and good stories aren’t always the same! Stories tend to lend themselves better to behind-the-scenes content don’t need ‘professional’ photography, necessarily. The nature of a story is to be ‘in the moment’ and unique and something of a journey for your audience.

Here are a few tips on creating a good Story.

Plan out a few ‘storyboards’

For example, if you’re a beautician you might want to show a before, during and after manicure.

A PT might like to share a few shots from a bootcamp session.

Can you go ‘behind the scenes’ in your story.

This can be something as simple as your lunchbreak, your daily walk, your arrival at a meeting – think about creating personality with these stories.

Stories can be a great place for delivering tips

Five top tips on how to create the perfect healthy lunch or 3 tweaks to your LinkedIn profile that will help you to reach more people. You can use visuals for this but also write text over them in the app.

Stories let you use text and stickers

Do use them so you can have some fun too!

How to create Facebook Stories

Through the Facebook app on your phone, you can directly post Stories by:

Going to your business page

Scroll down to where you see ‘Your Page’s Story’

Click ‘Create a Story’

Create your Story by taking photos or video, or upload photos and video from your Camera Roll

You can add filters and text

Once you’re done, at the bottom of your screen, click the ‘Next’ button

You will be prompted to add it as a Story, or as a post to your page

Select “Your Page’s Story” and click the arrow button at the bottom

It’s as easy as that!

Currently there isn’t any ‘formal’ way of measuring Facebook stories but we suspect as they grow in popularity they will be added to the Facebook Insights dashboard – we’ll keep an eye on this and let you know!